Summary

The children sometimes captured tadpoles and dragonflies and kept them in glass jars. The children watched their parents slaughter the farms’ chickens. The children also encountered deer, lizards, sparrows, cows, and cats. Some of the children once saw the traumatic sight of a cat eating her own kittens. The children often overheard sexual intercourse between their parents. The married couples had sex almost every night, as the husbands desired it. The husbands said that their wives were no longer attractive but that it did not matter because they had sex in the dark. The women bathed with their children each night, and the children often asked them questions about the world. The children often felt fear, and they used various items and ritualistic practices to make themselves feel safe. They carried small items that they felt were lucky, they whispered secret, comforting words to...